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T-Mobile and Foxconn CEOs Speak Out Against “Bendgate”

T-Mobile’s CEO is an eccentric and outspoken guy. The Foxconn CEO also has a similar record of outspoken behavior. When the two were asked (separately) about “Bendgate”, they both were very vocal about their thoughts on the matter. John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, called the entire ordeal “horse shit”, and Terry Gou, CEO of Foxconn, called the critism the ploy of Apple’s competitors. Neither company is happy about the rumor spreading, and how could they be? Rumors such as this could hurt business for both companies.

While T-Mobile wouldn’t suffer greatly if the iPhone 6 didn’t sell well, as they also offer other products, it could reduce their new sales. When a new iPhone comes out, people are more likely to upgrade or switch their cariers. If people are skiddish about buying the new iPhone, they may be less likely to switch to T-Mobile or renew contracts. In an interview, Legere sat on his iPhone 6 Plus, and after pulling it out said, “That is such horse shit. I mean, come on, what the f**k did you need to see?”. He went on to mock the video that’s been going around with Bendgate of the guy bending an iPhone 6 Plus, saying, “The video of the guy that’s doing this — and if you could have seen his face, he probably would have been purple”. His fingers in the video looked like they were going to break before the iPhone he was bending, so Legere’s estimation could be correct.

Foxconn’s involvement is obvious. As one of the primary suppliers for the iPhone, rumors like this directly hurt business. Apple certainly isn’t Foxconn’s only business partner, their clientele includes many leaders in the tech industry. However, the iPhone has the greatest potential for huge sales, so they have good reason for defending such an important product. Gou thinks their (and Apple’s) competitors were the reason for this rumor spreading, and it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Consumer Reports knew people were curious about bendgate, and in their own testing proved that the issue was being blown out of proportion. Someone even ran an iPhone over with a car. The amount of pressure it takes to bend the new iPhones is astronomical, one that wouldn’t be bent in a front pocket, but could be bent by someone sitting on a hard surface with the iPhone in between their deriere and the seat for an extended period of time. However, that’ll happen to any phone, or rather, anything. Except for seats, most things take some damage when being sat on. To quote the wise words of John Legere, “This is an amazing supercomputer in your hand. What the f**k are you putting it in your pants and sitting on it for?”.